Susan Follett
and Ben McHie will share their passion for
history as story. The event will begin
with their personal stories, including
background, calling, and choice of
artistic medium: literary historical
fiction for Ms. Follett and online/visual
for Mr. McHie.

Historical
focus for this event will be on Freedom
Summer, the pivotal element of
The
FOG MACHINE. Follett and McHie will
compare strengths and weaknesses of
learning resource types, focusing on the
AP US History textbook, the African
American Registry, and
The
FOG MACHINE.

They will then
explore the question “Is the Civil Rights
Movement Over?” using Black Box video from
Dr. Judy Richardson,
film
producer with Eyes on the Prize and
former Student Non-violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC) activist. They will
engage students on voting rights and
access to quality public education, two
issues at the heart of Freedom Summer and
at risk today. Discussion will compare
voting rights and access to quality public
education 50 years ago to today.

The event will
conclude with time for students to ask
questions.

Twin Cities native Ben Mchie is the
founder and executive director of the
African American Registry, a website that
draws more than 80,000 unique visitors a
month from more than 150 countries and
territories and is
one of the most comprehensive databases of
African American heritage online.
The Registry’s mission is
"Uniting Classrooms through Education,
Transforming Communities through
Learning." Its
personal narratives come from people
throughout the country, to preserve
America’s stories for educational and
learning purposes.

Mr. McHie has also been a Multi Media
Professional for over 35 years, directing,
producing, operating camera, and editing.
He has been featured on the BBC and
contributed to many books and articles on
race in America, including a chapter
entitled “The Pinocchio in Black America!”
in the 2013 book Talking about Race.
He has received four Emmys and two MTV
awards/nominations. His work formats
include feature films, corporate,
commercials, music videos, documentaries,
game-shows, broadcast sports
and more.

He is an historian, specializing in
African American Heritage, and a speaker
for educators, students, corporate and
civic organizations. As an Education
Consultant through The African American
Registry, his organization trains K-12
teachers to be more inclusive of African
American heritage in all subjects, every
day rather than just during Black History
month.

Mr. Mchie oversees everything that is
published on aaregistry.org. He is
passionate about affirming more of
America’s untold stories and developing
methods to bring races, cultures, and
generations closer together. He is a
Speech Communications graduate of Long
Beach State University.